Haemorrhoids are painful and a threat to your quality of life. The bleeding, the irritation, the pain, all of these symptoms are embarrassing and can be highly inconvenient for your daily life. Considering 50% of the population will be affected by haemorrhoids, by the time they reach the age of 50, it is needless to say, the condition needs more awareness surrounding healing and prevention.
In most cases, if you can identify the symptoms of haemorrhoids early, you may not require medical treatment. Lifestyle and dietary alterations can help you get relief. But it is important to know which food items actually help you treat your symptoms since there is rampant misinformation on the internet. To help you identify the best foods, here is our medically verified, curated list of 20 foods to fight haemorrhoids. We’ll also explore which food items you should avoid if you have haemorrhoids.
Piles, also known as haemorrhoids, are inflamed veins in your anus or lower rectum. They form when you have to put excess pressure while passing stool. Repeated bouts of constipation and poor dietary habits increase your risk of piles. In general, piles can cause symptoms such as irritation and pain in the anal region, and in advanced cases, piles or haemorrhoids can also cause bleeding.
There are different types of piles, and that can influence your symptoms and treatment options. Here are the two types of piles you must know about:
Piles or haemorrhoids can be both asymptomatic or have more than one visible symptom, based on the type of piles. Here are the key symptoms that you can use to identify haemorrhoids.
Dietary changes have a profound impact on your haemorrhoid healing because they can potentially treat one of the root causes, constipation. When you follow a haemorrhoid diet, it helps your body improve stool consistency and bowel discipline.
These factors slowly help your body recover by preventing further advancement of the haemorrhoids. Diet for haemorrhoids focuses on two things primarily: increasing your fibre intake and daily hydration. Here’s exactly how diet helps manage piles:
Using diet to get relief for piles is one of the best treatment options. The goal of this diet is to manage symptoms such as pain, irritation, and difficulty passing stool. Each food recommended below is natural and has positive health benefits for you. However, please consult a medical professional before adding the food items to your diet, especially if you have comorbidities like diabetes or other chronic illnesses.
Apples are known for their health benefits, and it's very true in the case of piles. Apples contain soluble fibre, which is easy to digest and improves stool and bowel movement consistency. It contains pectin, specifically, which helps soften stool. Eating apple skin also adds extra fibre to your diet. This helps you prevent constipation and keep doctors away. Lastly, apples are very versatile and can be prepared in a number of ways to add to your diet.
Bananas are known for their laxative effects. It is often recommended to patients with constipation as it helps soften stool and improve bowel movement consistency. Bananas also contain soluble fibre and natural compounds that support gut health. If you’re having bananas for haemorrhoids, it is important that you choose slightly ripe bananas for the best constipation-relieving effects.
You can have an assortment of berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, or strawberries, to achieve the same benefits. Berries are packed with fibre and water content. It indirectly helps increase your hydration levels. Berries also contain antioxidants, which help with inflammation around the anal region caused by haemorrhoids and food digestion. Berries are a great source of nutrients and can be easily added to your diet as a snack at any time of the day.
If you were to look for natural remedies for constipation, figs, otherwise known as anjeer, would come up online. This fruit has a high-fibre content, and that helps relieve constipation by bulking up your stool. It also promotes bowel movement regularity. To get the best benefits, you must soak figs at night and consume them in the morning.
Pears are a popular fruit for piles due to their fibre content, especially when consumed with the skin. So, you can think of pears as apples because they both offer similar benefits by helping you pass stool in an easy and timely manner. Why is it similar to an apple? Because when you consume a pear with skin, your fibre intake increases and you get a healthy dose of pectin, which is good for your diet if you’re suffering from haemorrhoids.
Much like figs, prunes, specifically dried plums, are a popular natural remedy for constipation. It contains both fibre and sorbitol, which is a natural laxative that draws water into the intestines. This makes prunes perfect for people who have haemorrhoids, as prunes can help stool pass easily.
Citrus fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, and lemons have tons of nutrients such as vitamin C and antioxidants. It aids digestion and, much like berries, can help lower inflammation in the body. This effect can also help your body manage symptoms like irritation and bleeding better, promoting long-term healing.
Broccoli is immensely helpful if you have haemorrhoids as it contains a lot of fibre and antioxidants. While some people complain about gas and bloating after eating bloating there’s an easy way to avoid that. Simply steaming the broccoli lightly before eating can help you preserve its nutrients while improving its digestibility. Broccoli supports regular bowel movements and can support haemorrhoid healing with its antioxidants.
If you’re talking about adding fibre to your diet, there’s nothing better than leafy greens themselves, like spinach, kale, or cabbage. These vegetables are fibre-rich and help improve digestion in your body. Spinach, kale, and cabbage also have water content, along with other essential nutrients required to lower inflammation in the body and support gut health. Adding leafy greens to your regular diet can help you ease haemorrhoid symptoms over time.
Carrots contain a mix of soluble and insoluble fibre. Together, it increases your fibre intake and helps your body maintain regular bowel movements. Carrots are also very versatile and can be added to your diet both raw and cooked. It can bulk up your stool and promote easier stool movement through your body.
Sweet potatoes are fibre-rich and specifically helpful for people with a sensitive digestive system. Oftentimes, increasing fibre intake increases the risk of other unwanted symptoms. Sweet potato is easy on the digestive system and helps regulate bowel movement with a lower risk of unwanted symptoms from increased fibre-consumption. The main reason sweet potato is a good food for piles is that it doesn’t irritate the gut.
Pumpkin is a great food for haemorrhoids as it helps reduce strain during bowel movements. It is also easy to digest, like sweet potatoes, and does not irritate the gut. Overall, pumpkin bulks up your stool with fibre and eases symptoms of constipation. Both sweet potatoes and pumpkin are ideal for you if you’re currently experiencing a piles flare up.
Continuing on the same trend of vegetables that have good fibre and still being easy to digest, cucumbers top this list. It contains mostly water, which increases your daily hydration while also adding mild fibre to your diet. It hydrates your stool and makes it easy to pass through the body. If you’re experiencing dehydration-related constipation, cucumbers work wonders to relieve the symptoms.
If you’re thinking of a healthy diet in 2026, everyone will recommend oats to you. They’re versatile, easy to cook, and contain necessary soluble fibre to make stool softer. Also, oats absorb water and form a gel-like substance in the stomach. This again eases the transport of stool out of your body. If you have oats for breakfast daily, it is said to improve bowel regularity and treat the symptoms of constipation.
Much like oats, quinoa and barley have also become very popular breakfast and overall food options for its nutritional values and low-risk of increasing your glycemic index. The whole grains also help improve digestion and contain fibre that nourishes healthy gut bacteria. The impact of having quinoa and barley is that it regularises bowel movements.
Brown rice compared to white rice has lower carbohydrates and causes lower sugar spikes. Additionally, it has a fibre-rich outer layer which supports digestion and prevents constipation in the first place. If you supplement white rice with brown rice when you’re recovering from piles, it can allow good improvement in your recovery journey.
Think of chia seeds like psyllium husk, only chia seeds are easier to digest and absorb water to form a gel-like consistency. This helps hydrate stool and improve bowel movement regularity. Also, chia seeds are very versatile and can be added to your diet in smoothies and yoghurt at any time of the day.
Lentils, beans, and peas are known for their rich nutrients. They contain plant protein and are also rich in fibre. Consuming legumes alongside your staples, such as brown rice or whole grain chapatis, can help you improve your gut microbiome. Also, legumes help reduce inflammation in your body and can ease piles symptoms.
If you consume almonds and walnuts regularly, they support your digestive health. Nuts also contain healthy fats, which lubricate your intestines and make the transport of stool easier. Nuts also have fibre, which bulk up stool, making it easier to pass.
As you can guess, yoghurt contains probiotics, which help improve your gut health. It supports the growth of good bacteria in your digestive system, which can slowly treat symptoms of constipation from its roots. Yoghurt in your diet also helps with nutrient absorption and regular bowel movements.
When you learn about what to eat for piles relief, you must immediately also know how to eat them. No, this is not about which preparations to make and recipe recommendations. Here are the most important diet tips for faster relief from pile symptoms.
Now that you know about the foods you should add to your diet, here are some food items you should remove from your diet, if you have them.
Patients from West Delhi, Punjabi Bagh, Rajouri Garden, Janakpuri, Pitampura, Paschim Vihar, South Delhi, Dwarka, and Noida trust MASSH group of Hospitals for safe and effective piles (haemorrhoids) treatment. Recognized as a leading center for proctology care in Delhi NCR, the hospital combines experienced specialists with cutting-edge technology to deliver accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment plans.
From early-stage piles management with medications and lifestyle guidance to advanced laser piles surgery, MASSH Group of Hospitals specialise in minimally invasive procedures that are virtually painless, with minimal bleeding and quicker recovery. The hospital is equipped with modern diagnostic tools, ensuring precise evaluation and tailored treatment for every patient.
With a strong focus on patient comfort, hygiene, and long-term relief, MASSH Group of Hospitals stands out as a preferred choice for piles treatment in Delhi NCR, helping patients return to a healthy, pain-free life.
Changing your diet can help you manage your haemorrhoid symptoms and promote healing. However, it is also important to take out bad dietary and lifestyle habits from your life in the process. Haemorrhoids can be painful and the treatment process requires patience and perseverance. So, make sure you add the food items recommended in this blog after discussion with your healthcare provider to get the symptomatic relief you need. For more information about haemorrhoids treatment and relief, feel free to consult our expert gastroenterologists at the MASSH Super Speciality Hospital in South Delhi.
Healthy living, eating well, and living free of pain!
MASSH Super Speciality Hospital Gastroenterology Team
Our highly experienced gastroenterologists have expertise in advanced treatment options for haemorrhoids (piles). Their clinical focus includes the management of complex haemorrhoid-related medical complications. Treatments are often accompanied by lifestyle and metabolic guidelines for long-term sustainable haemorrhoid management.
1. What is the best food for haemorrhoids?
The best food for haemorrhoids depends a lot on the type of haemorrhoids you have and your overall health. For dehydration related haemorrhoids, cucumber and yoghurt can help you soften stool and improve bowel movement frequency. Similarly, adding oats, whole grains, and brown rice to your diet regularly can also help you promote healing and slowly treat haemorrhoid symptoms over time.
2. How can I treat haemorrhoids at home?
To treat haemorrhoids at home you must follow specific dietary and lifestyle guidelines. This includes stopping your consumption of alcohol and caffeine. Up next, you should add fibre-rich sources to your diet that help your body bulk up stool so that it can easily leave your body. Lastly, make sure you increase your consumption of antioxidants to reduce inflammation in your body.
3. Is piles painful?
Yes, external piles can be painful with an inflammation around the anus that is tender and painful. Internal piles are often asymptomatic other than bright red bleeding during bowel movements. Symptom or no symptom both conditions should be taken seriously.
4. What are the most important symptoms of piles?
The most important symptoms of piles are bleeding during bowel movements and irritation in your anal region. These are the two most common symptoms of both internal and external piles, respectively.
5. Are piles and haemorrhoids the same thing?
Yes, piles and haemorrhoids are the same thing. Both these words originate from a Latin and a Greek root, respectively.
This blog is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified gastroenterologist in Delhi for proper evaluation and treatment recommendations.
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